GODZILLA REBORN: GOJIRA (1954) / SHIN GODZILLA (2016) ROUND TABLE!!!

GOJIRA (aka GODZILLA) (1954) d. Ishiro Honda (Japan)
GODZILLA, KING OF THE MONSTERS (1956) d. Ishiro Honda/Terry Morse (Japan/USA)
SHIN GODZILLA (2016) d. Hideaki Anno (Japan)

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It’s impossible to approach this episode’s subject with any objectivity, so I’m not even going to try. My childhood infatuation with this Tokyo-stomping behemoth first piqued an interest in monster movies, from which my passion for horror cinema followed. Granted, my gateway encounter was a far cry from the dark and imposing figure introduced to Japanese audiences in 1954 – by the time I met Godzilla in the mid-’70s, he had evolved into a rambunctious, bellowing, drop-kicking superhero, defending humankind from the evils of pollution, alien interlopers and the like.

GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS (2019) Movie Review

Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) d. Michael Dougherty (USA) (137 min)

Anyone who knows me even a little knows that I grew up a big Godzilla fan, that the Big G was essentially my gateway into the new world of gods and monsters, that from my love for this overgrown radioactive lizard (and his kaiju pals) would come the pursuit of further thrills in the form of King Kong and Frankenstein and Dracula and the Wolf Man and the magic of Ray Harryhausen and Bert I. Gordon, which in turn would turn a dark corner and reveal such deeper chills as Psycho, Halloween, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and more. It’s all thanks to Godzilla.

GOJIRA (1954) / GODZILLA, KING OF THE MONSTERS (1956) DVD Review

Gojira (1954) d. Ishiro Honda (Japan)
Godzilla, King of the Monsters! (1956) d. Ishiro Honda / Terry O. Morse (Japan/USA)

It’s nearly impossible to approach the subject of Godzilla with any objectivity, so I’m not even going to try. After all, it was my love for this fire-breathing, Tokyo-stomping behemoth from Monster Island that first piqued my interest in monster movies, from which my love for horror films consequently followed, ultimately leading me to my current state of being dutifully strapped to my television set every spare minute to take in the latest fright flick, then rushing to the computer to discuss and critique. It’s to the Big G that we must raise our glasses and shake our fists, because it all started there. 60 years, 28 official Toho films, and two U.S. remakes later, he still stands head and shoulders above the rest.